Shell rot

[RockyMountainMan]

My Russian Tortoises have been kept outside throughout the summer. I have planted clover, dandelion, grass around with sprinkler, rocks, hide, shed and small cave for them to hide and avoid the hot sun. The large enclosure has plenty of room for 5 of them and has shaded area and shelter for them to hide as well as open space for them to sunbath. It is indeed a nice place for them, except for CoCo which I just realized.

Had a long trip abroad for more than a month and got back home. My family and neighbor were taking care of the Tortoises feeding during my absence. I immediately spotted CoCo and became worried about him. I have another aggressive male in the clan but with all the hidings, rocks, covering and large enclosure, he does not bother CoCo much and CoCo runs pretty fast away from him.

The shell rot on CoCo developed so quickly in the past month that I was not even aware of. A little bit history on CoCo: I obtained from craiglist.org from a person who was misinformed by petco about how to take care these tortoises. CoCo looks weird with a big head and small dome shaped shell. Vet visits and follow up with right food, calcium supplement, UV light and heat and etc. takes a while to get him eventually in great shape. But I was really sad about this incident.

My other female tortoise also show some white spot area. See photos below.

The shell rot seems to be massive and have been developing so fast makes me worried about the overall environment of the outdoor enclosure. Throughout the winter last year, there is no shell rot at all when kept indoor. CoCo is nice and easy but when outdoor, I do notice that he is a loner. Rocky got all the females around him. CoCo sometimes tries to escape by climbing the wall, a sign that he is kind of stressed and wanting to get out - while the rest of the tortoises seem to be happy and enjoy the life outside.

Rocky does bam on other tortoises, could the shell rot started with the result of shell damage caused by Rocky hitting on him?

I made an appointment with local veterinarian to check on CoCo. For now I am keeping CoCo and LuLu (the female with white shell spot) inside. After this coming Saturday's vet visit, I will probably need to take care of both of them indoor for a while.

Did you have similar experience? Please share.

 

[ascott]

Injury can be a point in which a shell issue can start....I would be more concerned with caring for the affected tort and I would also perhaps make a plan to separate the males into their own enclosures with a couple females each so that some of the stress will drop between the males...you may even find that the males may need their own regular enclosures with visitation with the girls from times to time (one male at a time of course so no fighting/ramming between the males)...

I would be sure to clean and treat the affected areas...also, I would suggest you check your enclosure over all conditions to see if there is any other source of bacteria/remaining food/excessive poo/urine that they are being exposed to....not meaning that in a bad way, simply a suggestion...as bacteria is what shell rot is created from/thrives on...

 

[RockyMountainMan]

The enclosure is huge, I would say about 15f x 25f = 375 sf for hosting 5 tortoises. Overall it is pretty clean, the poo, urine will be washed down everyday with the automatic sprinkler so it is clean to me. The other bigger tortoises are very healthy. Even CoCo and LuLu have show large growth marks on their shell. But frankly CoCo and LuLu are the weakest among the group in terms of size and mental power.

I have 3 built-in cave and hiding places but to my surprise, they want cuddle together at night to the same cave which is deeper and more secure. I wonder how they manage inside the cave but I'd try to keep CoCo and LuLu inside for now until I built another cave/house (I am thinking of converting a small dog house) so they can be separated at night.

I suspect that stress, fight play an important role here resulting CoCo's shell problem - he is very timid and reserved. He has his own spot under the bushes, not get along with other tortoises. The moisture in that spot might cause any problem? I had both CoCo and LuLu staying inside last night. Anyway I will find out how severe the problem is after tomorrow's vet visit.

 

[RockyMountainMan]

Just come back from vet office and Jerry told me that he does not believe it is shell rot. He believe it is some kind of malnutrition that started before I got the tortoise. He does not believe there is fungi going on but did advise me to get those products that treats human nail fungi to apply to CoCo's shell for 2 month.

The metabolism is so slow that is about 1/8 of mammal as for tortoises. Jerry told me to be patient and continue to put CoCo on the right diet. CoCo shows a little bit fat but eyes are good, nails and beaks are good. Poo test for parasites will have to wait till Monday. Jerry agreed that the shell is smaller than what it should be for a healthy tortoise and I explained that the previous owner was feeding him canned food sold at petco and was using wrong substrates without UVB for about 2 years inside houses (another misinformed customer by petco).

Overall Jerry is not too concerned but think separating the enclosure is a good idea. These little ones eat a lot of clover in the enclosure - they finished off all the hens and chicks I planted there and other plants I learned from online. Only clover thrived and is plenty for them.

Jerry suggested sweat potato should be a good nutritious supply for the tortoises - actually first time I heard this. Romaine lettuce is my tortoises best love but it does not contain great nutrition according to Jerry. Also I should enforce the food rotation instead of letting tortoises force me to feed what they want. So I will be rotating kale, collard green, romaine lettuce, dandelions, weeds, mulberry leaves, agave, cactus and etc. Anyway I took CoCo back, still a little bit worried but let's hope no parasites. Also the enclosure is big enough that they should get enough exercises and not get too fat - this is another thing I need to pay attention.

 

[RockyMountainMan]

Fecal test result came in today and is negative. Vet consider the pin worm is not significant for any treatment.

I guess all I can do is keeping doing what I have been doing and treat CoCo well so eventually he is much better in his health. I also got a nice plastic dog house that I would like to convert it into another hide for CoCo and separate him from the other gangs. LuLu can stay with him as companion. I hope to post another picture of him next year with a great result!

 

[pandiculator]

Sounds like CoCo is on the mend!